the great american novel

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Coronado Adult EducationSpring 2016

The Great American Novel February 23, 2016

“If you decide to become a professional writer, you must, broadly speaking, decide whether you wish to write for fame, for pleasure, or for money.”

Ian FlemingHow to Write a Thriller

Recap of What We Covered Last Week

Non-Fiction - The Hungry Market

• Being - or becoming - the expert?• Pursuing a subject - or letting life happen?• Scratching itches - or entertaining?• How much to tell and what’s next?• Getting a publisher to buy your book• Examples and resources

Non-Fiction vs. Fiction:What’s Needed to Sell It

• Non-fiction: What are you going to write?• Fiction: How are you going to write it?

This Week:The Great American Novel

“For me, I gotta write, and it’s the adventure of it that’s hooked me. As the writer, I can do it all. I get to be the National Security Advisor who recommends the action to the President who must commit the forces. I’m the senior officer who sends his men into action and who feels the pain if they don’t make it back. I’m the enemy and the defender; logistician and staff planner. But most of all, I’m a young man again, that fresh lieutenant who must lead his men into battle.”

Dick Couch“So you Want to be a Writer”

2015: “The Great American Novel”

• Great or not-so-great? What you need to know getting started

• Mainstream or genre? Which way should you go?• Defining your audience and picking a “voice” and

point of view• Getting the sale with a publisher

2016: Pitching, Writing, Selling and Promoting Fiction

• The high concept and the pitch• Writing your novel and making it shine• Selling your novel to an agent or a publisher• *Promoting what someone publishes*

The High Concept and the Pitch:The Great American Novel?

Mr. Clancy said none of his success came easily, and he would remind aspiring writers of that when he spoke to them. “I tell them you learn to write the same way you learn to play golf,” he once said. “You do it, and keep doing it until you get it right. A lot of people think something mystical happens to you, that maybe the muse kisses you on the ear. But writing isn’t divinely inspired — it’s hard work.”

Tom ClancyQuoted in the New York TimesOctober 2, 2013

The High Concept and the Pitch

• What you need to know getting started• Mainstream or genre? Which way should you go?• Getting story ideas• What a reader wants from a novel

The High Concept and Pitch: Of What?

• The king died and then the queen died.– A story

• The king died and then the queen died of grief.– A plot

• The queen died, and no one knew why, until it was discovered that it was through grief at the death of the king.– A mystery

Some Preliminaries: Dean Koontz’s Recommendations to New Writers

• Thought• Care• Storytelling• Craftsmanship

Great or Not-So-Great? What You Need to Know Getting Started

• Lots of decisions to make:– Mainstream or genre– Publisher or self-publish– Single work or a series– Time-bounding to complete

• The competition is intense:– Increasing number of novels published – This means that far-fewer are commercially successful– In many ways, the market is over-saturated– Compared to non-fiction, there are fewer barriers to entry

Mainstream or Genre? Which Way Should You Go?

• Mainstream…• Genre…• Niche…• Other…

Dean Koontz On Generating New Story Ideas

• Read!• Write!• Tickle the imagination and generate story ideas by

playing around with exotic titles• Type out a bunch of narrative hooks and find one that is

intriguing• Prime the idea pump by building up a couple of

characters in enormous detail• Whatever you write, you must begin your novel by

plunging the hero or heroine into terrible trouble

What the Average Reader Demands of a Novel

• A strong plot• A great deal of action• A hero, or heroine, or both• Colorful, imaginative, & convincing characterization• Clear, believable, character motivations• Well-drawn backgrounds• At least some familiarity with the English language• A style with lyrical language and striking images

Defining Your Audience and Picking a “Voice” and Point of View

• Who are you writing for?• What voice should you pick?

– What voice do you most enjoy in the fiction you read?– What voice seems most natural to you?

• Go for a test drive– Write three chapters in third-person– Write the same three chapters in first-person

Writing Your Novel and Making It Shine

“There is only one recipe for a bestseller and it is a very simple one. If you look back on all the bestsellers you have read, you will find they all have one quality you simply have to turn the page.”

Ian FlemingHow to Write a Thriller

Writing Your Novel and Making It Shine

• Success stems from this quality as a story-teller • That said, the three most important things• Other essential things• The quality control process

Success Stems From This Quality as a Story-Teller

“It’s not what you know that counts, it’s whether the reader believes that you know something. This effect is called the suspension of disbelief.

Oscar Collier and Frances LeightonHow to Write and Sell Your First Novel

Let’s talk about three of the most important ingredients in writing a

successful novel…

Characterization Plotting

ActionYou must do all three well!

Plotting

“There are only two plots: The hero takes a journey and a stranger comes to town.”

Timothy Spurgin“The Art of Reading”The Great Courses

The Classic Plot

• The writer introduces a hero or heroine who has just been – or is about to be – plunged into terrible trouble

• The hero or heroine attempts to solve his or her problem but only slips deeper into trouble

• As they try to climb out of the hole they’re in, complications arise, each more terrible than the one before, until the situation could not become more hopeless, then one final unthinkable complication arises and makes matters worse.

• At last, deeply affected and changed by his awful experiences and intolerable circumstances, the hero learns something about himself and the human condition. He then understands what he must do to get out of the dangerous situation in which he has wound up. He takes the necessary actions and either succeeds or fails, succeeding more often than not.

“You can distill any drama – a Greek tragedy, a Shakespearian play, a modern novel, a TV drama or comedy, whatever – into a simple equation: ‘What do these guys want, and what’s keeping them from getting it?’”

Bill BleichWriting advice

Plots

• Create a compelling plot• Write a grabber opening• Write a successful ending• Create a middle that keeps the reader involved

James Hall – Hit Lit

• Gone with the Wind• Peyton Place• To Kill a Mockingbird• Valley of the Dolls• The Godfather• The Exorcist• Jaws• The Dead Zone• The Hunt for Red October• The Firm• The Bridges of Madison County• The Da Vinci Code

Let’s take a deep-dive into one well-known way to design or deconstruct a plot….

TheFreytag

Pyramid

Characterization

“There are only two plots: The hero takes a journey and a stranger comes to town.”

Timothy Spurgin“The Art of Reading”The Great Courses

“There are only two plots: The hero takes a journey and a stranger comes to town.”

Timothy Spurgin“The Art of Reading”The Great Courses

Important Qualities for Heroes, Heroines and Strangers

• Virtue• Competence• Courage• Likeability• Imperfections• Change:

– Layers– Arcs

Character Motivations

• Love• Curiosity• Self-preservation• Greed• Self-discovery• Duty• Revenge

Character Traits

• Physical appearance• Movement and gestures• Past life• Religion• Sexuality• Vocation• Skills and talents• Fears• Dreams• Pleasures • Plans for the future• Sense of humor• Politics• Voice and speech

Presenting Character Traits Thoughtfully

• How many major and minor characters to have• All major characters must have a biography • Develop a “job description” for each character• You will know what your characters will do• You are writing a novel – not a movie script

– You have to get your characters from Point A to Point B– Your characters are not dead when they’re off the page

• What is each character doing?– On stage– Off stage

Take a female character who is on her way to her high school reunion. She’s 50, attractive, divorced, and has had no contact with her graduating class since she left Iowa for Berkley in 1985. There was a guy she jilted when she went off to school. Develop her.

• Physical: height, weight, hair color, best feature, worst feature, etc.

• Occupation: attorney, doctor, college professor, executive, runs a dot.com startup, etc.

• Personal: strengths, weaknesses, phobias, attitude toward men, attitude toward all others, etc.

• Family: siblings, relationship with mom/dad, rivalries• Relationships: good/bad/difficult, marriage(s), children?

Present her in a way that’s not a “police blotter”

James Hall – Hit Lit

• Gone with the Wind• Peyton Place• To Kill a Mockingbird• Valley of the Dolls• The Godfather• The Exorcist• Jaws• The Dead Zone• The Hunt for Red October• The Firm• The Bridges of Madison County• The Da Vinci Code

.…let’s color in two characters….

New York Times, Publisher’s Weekly & USA Today Best-Seller!

Let’s color in one character, Anne Sullivan, Op-Center’s Deputy

Director

“Anne Sullivan was a retired General Services Administration super grade who had made a career in Washington. She knew all about the government, including government contracting, hiring, firing, and funding, and how to sidestep the issues. These were things Williams never had to deal with, even during his multiple tours in Washington.”

“Unlike Williams, Sullivan came from money. Her father had fashioned a successful and lucrative career in finance with Bain Capital Ventures. Between that family money and her GSA retirement, she was looking forward to a comfortable life. She enjoyed the D.C. social and cultural scene and traveled often, primarily to Europe and especially to Ireland. That plan was interrupted when Williams recruited her—charmed her, really, she readily admitted—to be his deputy.”

Publisher’s Weekly & USA Today Best-Seller!

Let’s color in one character, Kate Bigelow, Commanding

Officer, USS Milwaukee (LCS-5) Freedom-Class Littoral

Combat Ship

“Kate Bigelow was a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. She’d gone to the Academy for two reasons: to play lacrosse and to sing. Coming out of Montgomery Blair Prep in Silver Spring, Maryland, her two passions had been playing lacrosse and singing in her school glee club and church choir. She was an all-state midfielder and also had a strong voice. Her grades were good if not outstanding, but the Academy women’s lacrosse coach saw her play and liked what she saw. Lacrosse was a rough sport, even the woman’s game, and Kate Bigelow, while owning a technically sound game, was not above flattening an opposing player with a legal hit. She started for three years on the lacrosse team, beating Army two of those three years, and had sung in the Catholic Choir and the Naval Academy Glee Club.”

“Kate had graduated in the upper half of the bottom third of the Class of 2002. She’d never really considered a full career in the Navy as a seagoing officer, two things intervened that kept her from leaving the service. She found she liked U.S. Navy sailors and she had a knack for leading them. Secondly, she found command intoxicating. There was nothing like it on the outside, so she stayed in the Navy. She had previously commanded an MCM ship like Defender that now followed them out of Sasebo.”

…plot?...characterization?...which is more important?

Plot or Characterization

• You have to have plot to make the reader turn pages• People are the story and the whole story????????????????????????????????????????????????• Plot has the entertainment value to pull the reader

along• The characters are the vehicle, the tools through

which you tell your story• Readers want you to tell them a story• Dialogue brings your characters to life!

Action

“There is only one recipe for a bestseller and it is a very simple one. If you look back on all the bestsellers you have read, you will find they all have one quality; you simply have to turn the page.”

Ian FlemingHow to Write a Thriller

What About Action?

• Action evolves naturally from the plot• There is no “formula” for having action in your novel• As Clancy said, don’t overthink the action• That said, here are some things to consider:

– Different kinds of novels lend themselves to more or less– Write all the action you can – then consider Goldilocks– If riveting, hold-your-breath action is anywhere – up front– Balance scene and summary to bound action scenes

But That’s Not All!(Mainstream and Genre)

• High Concept (Think in movie terms)– The Coronado Conspiracy– For Duty and Honor

• Theme– The Coronado Conspiracy– For Duty and Honor

Selling Your Novel to an Agent or a Publisher

“All good writing is swimming under water and holding your breath.”

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Selling Your Novel to an Agent or a Publisher

• In many ways, it’s all about the sale to an agent• Getting an agent to read your proposal and ms• Packaging yourself professionally• The query letter and the pitch• The Treatment• The Narrative Outline

It is All About Getting the Sale

• Query agents – get the statistics on your side:– Forty years ago – 30% of books were agented – In the last decade – Over 85% of books were agented

• Small publishers – you will likely bear some risk– Probably no advance– Limited print run

• Be your own agent – to find an agent: Richard Curtis How to Be Your Own Literary Agent

Getting an Agent to Read Your Manuscript

• It starts with being familiar with books in your “field”• Then you find out which agents agented those books• Stay in the library: Get contact info for agents• Go back to what you’ve learned about query letters:

– High Concept (back to the movies)– Treatment– Narrative Outline– Full Manuscript

• Tom Clancy’s Op-Center: One example

Let’s “Deconstruct” a Treatment and a Narrative Outline

Let’s Deconstruct a Novel Treatment

• Cover• Organization• Organizing Impulse and High Concept• The “Old” OpCenter Dies• The “New” OpCenter is Born• New Character Details

– Preamble– Those who spend a great deal of time

physically at OpCenter – Those who deal with crises overseas

in each scenario– Those who deal with crises

domestically in each scenario• OpCenter Plot and Scenario Plan

– Preamble– Short Plot Synopsis

• For us, this was 17,000+ words

Let’s Deconstruct a Narrative Outline

• Cover• Front matter• Chapter summaries

– Separate sections– One or two paragraphs per

section• Epilogue• For us, this was 19,000+

words

Promoting What Someone Publishes

“You are the CEO of your own career.”David SonaNavy Transition CourseSpring 2000

Promoting What Someone Publishes

• What you should think twice before doing– Pestering friends and family to buy your book– Taking your books from event to event to sell

• What you should think of doing instead– Create anticipation for your book– Establish a world-class online presence– Use social media to the extent writing is still first– Write about your book’s subject matter – everywhere

• We’ll cover these subjects over the next two weeks

Resources

• E.E. Forster Aspects of the Novel• Francine Prose Reading Like a Writer• Richard Curtis How To Be Your Own Literary Agent• James Hall Hit Lit• Dr. Linda Seger

– The Art of Adaptation– Advanced Screenwriting

• Robert Masello– Robert’s Rules of Writing– Writer Tells All

• The Great Courses

“Being a comparatively successful writer is a good life. You don’t have to work at it all the time and you carry your office around in your head. And you are far more aware of the world around you. Writing makes you more alive to your surroundings and, since the main ingredient of living, though you might not think so to look at most human beings is to be alive, this is quite a worthwhile by-product, even if you only write thrillers.”

Ian FlemingHow to Write a Thriller

Slides Posted:http://www.georgegaldorisi.com/

E-mail address:george@georgegaldorisi.com

E-mail me if you’d like:The Treatment and Narrative Outline forTom Clancy’s Op-Center: Out of the Ashes

Next Week

Establishing an Online Presence

• Review of weeks one through four– Writing in general– Writing for and selling for publication – Writing and selling non-fiction– Writing and selling novels

• What makes your online material unique?• Beating the competition for “eyes”• Balancing content and entertainment• Doing-it-yourself…or…?

Homework?My Turn!